Foreign currency supply increased threefold since January to $1 billion. The Central Bank of Russia said in a statement.
Unlike January, in February supply comprised U.S. currency, the Central Bank said in a press release. Anticipating an increase in demand for foreign exchange, authorized banks increased import of foreign currency in February. However, the population demand for foreign exchange proved not as high as expected, and the banks were reluctant to export the imported cash, the Central Bank said. Import of foreign exchange totaled $5 billion, which was the highest indicator for the entire period of monitoring since 1996.